Press Releases

June 29, 2015 -- As Class of 2015 graduates head out on job interviews, the money many borrowed to help subsidize their higher education may be just a distant memory. Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Direct Loans have a six-month grace period that gives borrowers time to find a steady source of income before repayme...

June 18, 2014 - Nearly 3,000 financial aid professionals will convene July 19 at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans to discuss ways to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing college students, including ways to pay for higher education and manage student debt.

May 20, 2015 - Members of the media, policy organizations, Congressional offices, and the public are invited to learn about the potential of using prior-prior year income Information to streamline the financial aid process from a panel of experts, including Justin Draeger, president of the National Association of Stude...

May 7, 2015 - A growing number of lawmakers and researchers agree that one simple policy change would streamline financial aid applications and broaden college access for students. The benefits far outweigh any side effects of this change – many of which are negligible, according to a new report from the National Assoc...

April 22, 2015 - Nearly half of financial aid offices surveyed report a moderate to severe shortage in resources needed to do their jobs, according to a new report from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). And when time is short, survey respondents say it’s often counseling for stu...

February 12, 2015 - The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) applauds the findings of a new report from the American Council on Education (ACE), “Recalibrating Regulation of Colleges and Universities: Report of the Task Force on Federal Regulation in Higher Education.”

February 4, 2015 – Washington, D.C.: The Department of Education (ED) should take six steps to improve student loan servicing for borrowers, according to the final report of a task force on student loan servicing issues, released today by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) in part...

February 2, 2015 - Today, President Barack Obama released his budget request for fiscal year 2016. Designed to invest in the future and lift the American middle class, this budget request contains funding and support for many programs that the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) advoca...

December 17, 2014 - The gateway to financial aid for college opens January 1, 2015, making this winter break the ideal time to prepare and complete your application correctly. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the first step toward finding funding for higher education, but many students don’t appl...

December 17, 2014 - A new policy paper released today by a consortium of higher education research and advocacy organizations argues that automatically enrolling indebted students in Income-Based Repayment (IBR), and automating repayment through employer payroll withholding, could help to simplify the student loan syst...

December 4, 2014 - Today, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) and President Justin Draeger will join President Obama, the First Lady, and Vice President Biden along with hundreds of college presidents and other higher education leaders to announce new actions to help more students ...

November 25, 2014 - Efforts to increase access to higher education got a boost last week with the release of Sen. Tom Harkin’s Higher Education Affordability Act (HEAA), a bill that includes many recommendations from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).

October 23, 2014 - College admissions season is already underway for early applicants - and a free web resource center demonstrates the many ways they could benefit if they ultimately enroll in an institution of higher education.

September 30, 2014 - Too many students seeking financial aid for higher education have incorrectly reported their family income on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), leading to millions of dollars of “improper payments” from the Pell Grant program, according to a recent federal report. The National A...

September 24, 2014 - New data released by the Department of Education show 14 percent of federal student loan borrowers are defaulting on their loans within three years of entering repayment. While the percentage of students who defaulted decreased from 14.7 percent last year to 13.7 percent this year, far too many bor...

September 15, 2014 - In the coming days, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) will release the latest-available data on student loan borrowers who fell so far behind on repayments that they defaulted. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) has experts on hand to provide context on st...

August 19, 2014 - As the summer winds down, college searches ramp up for families across the country. State and regional aid offerings mean they most likely won’t have to go far to find scholarship and grant opportunities to help pay for college – and free online resources can get them started.

August 6, 2014 - Current consumer information requirements for higher education institutions can be streamlined, enhanced, or eliminated to better educate students and to remove unnecessary regulatory burden on institutional officials, according to a new policy report from the National Association of Student Financial ...

July 30, 2014 - The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) today released an updated edition of its annual federal student aid primer, the National Student Aid Profile, to better inform members of the media, policymakers and other interested parties about the facts surrounding student aid...

July 30, 2014 - A new report authored by a broad cross section of the nation’s financial aid administrators makes key recommendations for continuing and improving the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

July 17, 2014 - This Wednesday, July 30 briefing, hosted by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) is open to lawmakers, congressional staffers, media and anyone interested in gaining background on current financial aid programs—as outlined in NASFAA’s newly updated National Student A...

July 1, 2014 - Each year, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) presents awards to the most deserving members of the financial aid profession and higher education community.

June 26, 2014 - Attendees of the 2014 NASFAA National Conference—nearly 2,500 financial aid professionals from higher education institutions all across the U.S.—will be joined by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and longtime education advocate.

June 19, 2014 – Nearly 2,500 financial aid professionals will gather June 29 at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tenn. to discuss ways to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing students, including ways to pay for college and manage student debt.

June 17, 2014 – The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) is pleased to announce a new partnership with the National Direct Student Loan Coalition (NDSLC) to create a joint Task Force on student loan servicing issues.

June 6, 2014 - What is the purpose of the president’s annual budget request and when can it be expected? What is the role of a Congressional Budget Committee? How does it differ from Appropriations? What is an omnibus spending bill, and when does it come into play? The National Association of Student Financial Aid Adm...

May 15, 2014 - Today the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) offered its strong support for a new bill, “The Simplifying Financial Aid for Students Act of 2014.” Sponsored by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), the measure would require the use of prior-prior year (PPY) income data to determine ...

May 8, 2014 - As students receive and begin reviewing their financial aid packages for the 2014-15 school year, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) advises them to take a look at their student loans since federal student loan interest rates are set to increase
President Obama last...

April 28, 2014 – Media covering issues related to planning and paying for college will want to save the date for the 2014 National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) conference, held June 29 – July 2, 2014 at the brand-new Music City Center, located in the heart of vibrant downtown Nashville.

April 1, 2014 - Today, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) unveiled a new, mobile-friendly tool that compiles important financial aid regulations, legislation, and other key resources into one convenient place so financial aid office staff have the information they need to better s...

March 26, 2014 - NASFAA has released a new, free Tax Benefits Guide for Tax Year 2013 designed to help students and families navigate the sometimes thorny task of determining which higher education tax benefits you qualify to receive—and which will secure you the maximum federal return.

March 20, 2014 - A consortium of higher education organizations called on Congress to reform the overly complex repayment process for federal student loans by automatically enrolling all new borrowers in a single repayment plan based on income. Defaults among federal student loan borrowers have nearly doubled over the ...

March 5, 2014 - A new policy brief “Peers In PIRS: Challenges Considerations For Rating Groups Of Postsecondary Institutions” focuses on the challenges associated with grouping and comparing peer institutions under the Obama Administration’s proposed college rating system. A number of key elements in the Obama Adminis...

Feb. 27, 2014 - Over the next few months, eager students across the country will tear open college acceptance letters announcing their options for the 2014-15 school year. They’ll also get financial aid award letters, helping to shed some light on how much college will cost. Amid the excitement of educational possibili...

Feb. 24, 2014 – The plight of prospective college-going undocumented students is easing slowly but surely. At least 17 states have passed some version of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, allowing qualifying students without citizenship status to pay in-state tuition at public college...

Jan. 29, 2014 – NASFAA University is now working with Assessment Systems Worldwide (ASW), a leader in the assessment and testing industry since 1979, to perform a psychometric analysis of the NASFAA University Credential Tests. Psychometrics is the field of study concerned with the measurement of knowledge, and ASW wi...

Jan. 7, 2014 – The new year is upon us, and with it comes the newly updated Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2014-15 school year—and a new batch of students and families who are wondering how they’ll pay their college costs next year. Although the FAFSA is easier than ever to complete online (w...

Dec. 3, 2013 - Today at 10:00 am ET Justin Draeger, president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), will testify before the U.S. House of Representatives at the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training’s hearing, "Keeping College Within Reach: Strengthenin...

Nov. 20, 2013 - The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) today released a brief stressing that greater transparency is needed from the Department of Education in order to gain a better understanding of how administrative burden estimates are calculated with respect to federal regulatio...

Nov. 7, 2013 - November is not all football games and turkey dinners. This month also marks the end of the six-month, federal student loan “grace period” for Class of 2013 college graduates—and now those loan payments are about to come due for the first time. “Determining the best repayment strategy for you and your f...

Oct. 23, 2013 - This morning, the College Board released its annual Trends in Student Aid and Trends in College Pricing reports. Taken together, the reports help to illuminate how much college costs, who pays for college, who’s receiving financial aid and in what types and amounts, and how much student debt has accum...

October 21, 2013 - The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) has released the final report of its prior-prior year (PPY) income tax study, “A Tale of Two Income Years,” funded through a Bill Melinda Gates Foundation grant. NASFAA asked whether using two-years’ prior income tax data on...

September 30, 2013 - The U.S. Department of Education today released the average FY 2011 two-year and the FY 2010 three-year cohort default rates (CDRs). The two-year rate increased to 10 percent from 9.1 percent in FY 2010, and the three-year rate now stands at 14.7 percent (up from 13.4 in FY 2009). Under current rul...

September 19, 2013 - As students head back to campus for the start of the 2013-14 school year, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) advises them to consider their new and accumulated loan debt, and make sure they are only borrowing what is absolutely needed.

September 12, 2013 - Nine student-aid advocacy and research organizations have announced that they will serve as a consortium to look specifically at issues and challenges pertaining to student loan repayment, with an emphasis on income-based repayment. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators ...

August 21, 2013 – As students head back to campus for the start of the 2013-14 school year, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) advises them to consider their new and accumulated loan debt, and make sure they are only borrowing what is absolutely needed.

July 18, 2013 -- Today, a group of U.S. Senators from both sides of the aisle introduced a compromise measure to lower interest rates for 100 percent of borrowers who have taken out, or will take out, a new federal student loan after July 1, 2013.

July 14, 2013 - Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, President Of University Of Maryland, Baltimore County Also To Address Financial Aid Professionals July 14, 2013 – NASFAA’s National Conference begins today at Aria Resort Casino in Las Vegas with over 2,400 in attendance. Keynote speaker,

June 27, 2013 - The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) released an updated edition of its annual federal student aid primer, the National Student Aid Profile, to better inform members of the media, policymakers and other interested parties about the facts surrounding student aid issu...

May 31, 2013 – Media covering higher education, student financial aid, and planning and paying for college should save the date for the 2013 National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators’ (NASFAA) conference, held July 14-17 at the ARIA Resort Casino in Las Vegas.

May 21, 2013—Last week saw a flurry of legislative proposals created to address the subsidized Stafford loan interest rate increase scheduled to occur on July 1—a change that could impact 9.4 million people nationwide. These proposals join previously offered proposals from both President Obama and Senate Republicans....

May 9, 2013—In response to HR 1911, the “Smarter Solutions for Students Act” put forth by the House of Representative’s Committee on Education and the Workforce, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) President Justin Draeger issued the following statement.

April 10, 2013 -- In response to President Obama's fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget request, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) President Justin Draeger issued the following statement...

April 2, 2013 -- As college costs and student debt continue to expand, lawmakers and the public have increasingly called for better and more useful consumer information about the true cost of college. In an effort to improve financial aid award letters, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators ...

March 28, 2013 -- Looking forward to a big tax return this year? Or seeking ways to reduce the amount you shell out to Uncle Sam? The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) has released a new, free Tax Benefits Guide for Tax Year 2012 designed to help students and families navigate the s...

March 13, 2013 -- Today at 10:00 am ET Justin Draeger, president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), will testify before the U.S. House of Representatives at the Committee on Education and the Workforce’s hearing on "Keeping College Within Reach: Examining Opportunitie...

Feb. 26, 2013 -- Student financial aid administrators, college presidents, and consumers have all seen recent reports about the impact of March 1 across-the-board spending cuts (e.g. “sequestration”) on key federal programs that assist students and families in paying for college. To provide some context on what these ...

Jan. 16, 2013 -- The board of directors of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators has voted to extend NASFAA President Justin Draeger's contract for two additional years, through June 2015.

Sept. 14, 2012 - The U.S. Department of Education has said it will release the FY 2010 two-year cohort default rates (CDRs) on Sept. 17 and the FY 2009 three-year CDRs on Sept. 24 to schools, guaranty agencies and lenders.

August 27, 2012 -- NASFAA announced it has been awarded a grant from the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation to examine current systems of aid design and delivery, with an eye toward reimagining how they may be improved in the future. The grant was awarded to NASFAA as part of larger project, Reimagining Aid Design and Del...

July 24, 2012 -- NASFAA President Justin Draeger issued the following statement regarding the the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB's) final version of the financial aid Shopping Sheet

July 12, 2012 -- It's not too late to make plans to attend and report on the 2012 National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) conference, held July 22-25 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

July 11, 2012 -- The National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good and NASFAA has created resources to help aid administrators determine their state's policies on undocumented students in higher education and to increase access to higher education for this student population.

June 27, 2012 -- NASFAA President Justin Draeger issued this statement in response to the proposal to temporarily extend the 3.4 percent rate on subsidized Stafford loans and to permanently limit eligibility for these same subsidized loans to 150 percent of the program length.

June 27, 2012 -- NASFAA released an updated edition of its annual federal student aid primer, to better inform members of the media, policymakers and other interested parties about the facts surrounding student aid issues and funding.

May 31, 2012 -- There’s a new reason to save the date for the 2012 National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) conference, held July 22-25 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. Key higher education policy advisors from the Barack Obama and Mitt Romney presidential campaigns will kick off the conferen...

May 23, 2012 -- When students and families make critical decisions about which college to attend, they often rely on the information colleges and universities send them in a financial aid award letter. However, a lack of consistency between schools’ award letters can cause confusion and make it difficult for students ...

March 27, 2012 -- U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) convened his fifth annual college and university presidents conference in Washington, D.C. today with more than 50 presidents from colleges and universities across Ohio. Brown’s forum – the first of its kind – is aimed at connecting educators with business leaders to ad...

March 19, 2012 -- NASFAA has released a new, free Tax Benefits Guide designed to help students and families navigate the sometimes thorny task of determining which higher education tax benefits you qualify to receive—and which will secure you the maximum return on April 17. The federal government provides roughly $15...

Feb. 10, 2012 -- The Obama administration plans to kick off the Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 budget process on Monday by releasing the President's FY2013 Budget Request. Administration officials have said that the FY13 Budget request will include additional details about the college affordability policy proposals mentioned b...

Jan. 30, 2012 -- NASFAA has been awarded a grant from the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation to study the use of prior-prior year (or two years prior) income data to determine eligibility for student financial aid.

Jan. 24, 2011 -- NASFAA has developed three free resources to help students accurately file the FAFSA. These resources provide a wealth of information for students, families and counselors who advise families trying to pay for college.

Jan. 9, 2012 -- As the 2013 Higher Education Act expiration approaches, NASFAA has formed a task force to consult with NASFAA’s membership and other important groups and agencies to develop recommendations to the NASFAA board on policy issues and specific statutory changes in the federal student aid programs and their...

Dec. 9, 2011 - NASFAA announced yesterday that it is partnering with the U.S. Department of Education and other stakeholders on a White House initiative to encourage college campuses to use the Federal Work-Study Program (FWS) to place students in positions related to their learning and career interests and goals.

Nov. 5, 2011 - In response to the Obama administration's announcement that the rate of improper payments in the Pell Grant program fell to 2.7% in 2011, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrator President Justin Draeger issued this statement.

Oct. 31, 2011 - NASFAA has published a new resource to help students and families evaluate colleges and universities and estimate the out-of-pocket costs, or "net price," of higher education. NASFAA's issue brief highlights some of the consumer information colleges provide and analyzes what this information says about...